The Republican journal., 1887-08-11
On the Maine Coast.

+" hank heaven. now for week or ten davs
| freedom from the wing heat in the bank or
| counting room. cried more than one tired ont
| fellow last week. lie would have nothing to
| do with noisy, >tiiln9 railway ears. but. like Il
| sensible man. Stcered straight for the Bangor
| eNtnin- I.uat. with the goric> o: the coast Of
| MaiiIc bt fore his eyes. all the WAY to Mt. De-
sert. How delicious the breeze as he sailed
down Boston bay. How proud his sense of
triumph over his sweltcrin. mates at home. rs
he actually drew on and buttonel UP his over
coat. What hecf>teak he ate with rrli>Iiiny
appetite at supper. and then, the dreamy poet
c reTcr!c he fell into, as he watched the hcau-
tifu flames of the lighthouses along the coast.
listened 10 the steady pilsh of the water. and
followed Tile trembling wake oi the moonlight
on the sea. For 50 Young Il moon. he was con-
Nlnced he never had seen one that at 50 early
an age had developed such powers of rcec-
ton. Then to bed before 10. that he might be
up bright and early to the flush of the sun
rise on the beautiful Camden mountains back
of Rockand
Alas. how deceitful are appearances. Scarce
y. perhaps. had he lost himself in his first
hour of sleep. than deep. prolonged moan. as
Of some huge monster in pain, startled him
back to consciousness. No Prophet Daniel
Was needed to interpret to him the "NIcne.
Meme. Tekel. Tphari>in' that had loomed up
to throw CONSERVATION over his Bc>haZZar'S :
feast. Fog. fog, FOG. and all the rest Of the
night moan. moan, moan. as of some lost spirit
cut oil forever from God and hope. Some
way or other, however, Rockiand was felt out
by III the morning. but tine Camden noun
iain> and Pcnob>rot bay lay swallowed UP
from sight in worse than night. in what hal
tie name of day. but served 10 mortal ewes.
\ hundred friends had told him of that sail
from Rockiaiid 70 MI. Desert, of the countless
Islands, the bright buc of the waters. the rosy
color of the @iacierrouned rocks, the beaut-
1ul relief Of the spruces and naples crownng
their strong forms. And now fate had orain-
ed that a tick bolster ease to be drawn
over his head and body and fastened under his
feet with a label or Il ticket attached to it. as
though he were Il mere package OF merchandise
to he delivered at 5. W. or \. T.. IIarbor. Me-
of course. he found the man on board who
had made the trip dozen times in the finest of
weather. and who now spent the morning svm-
paihetcal!y telling others what an experience
for lifetime they were losing. The man of
that stamp turns up in every steamboat Swal-
lowed up in tie fog, and is then beheld il. his
highest glory. 'Dont you wish you had been
as lucky fellow As /. you poor dogs is writ
ten nj, over his hateful face and manner. And
so. most likely. under his encouraging lead. a
deeper and deeper gloom settles over the coun-
teEance> Of the miserable unfortunatcS. Two
or three of them. however. made of better
stun. seem Bent Oh extracting all the comfort
tUt'N tiil ON tt Tile lO!tDTi S.Iuatlpn. Ana
falling afoul of bronzel and wrinkled faced
son of Neptune, evidently born on the coast
and acquainted with all its islands, channels.
reefs and ilarhorS. they get him to explain at
iargr to them how il is possible, without being
able 10 iG0 feet ahead, to thread all these in
irlralc passages. and come out right every time.
Very interesting proves his account of what
thc pilot mas t" do. and of what sensitive reg
i>ter he must become of the speed of the boat.
the strength of the wind. the position of the
reefs, the set of the currents. the rate of the
tides. ''lic has got to have it all in him. like Il
blind man feeling his way round a house he's
acquainted with" says the coasting skipper.
"Goc> ii blind. them" interrupts one nearer.
NO; learns how TO see with his eyes shut is
I'll" answer. II suppose you men. born on he
coast here, take to this sort of thin" by III
>tinct, now dips in another oar. ''No: moth
ing but years Of experience does it. and eNper-
lencc doesn't amount to anything in more than
onu man out of hundred. \ man must have
natural parts" Already an cNcitin" discus
sion oil education is felt to be afoot. ''Whv."
breaks in the skipper. you could keep one
man with YOU. up there in the pilot house. ten
years. and show him everything. every ,l;lv.
and tlien he couldn't find his way from one is
land 10 another without running aground.
Another man would learn ii in Il single SEX
SON" The skipper has 10 faith in the doctrine
that put any one. no matter whom, under
pressure enough of poverty, responsibility or
danger. and these will bring the man out of
him. NO. they will not. they'll bring the
>hirk. the good-for-nothing, the coward, out of
him. and show him up for just what he is
All these positions he will illustrate with stories
of genuine local marine flavor. till his hearers
feel that they know Il good deal more about
Maine folks and human nature in general than
they did before they left Boston. Meanwhile.
the other passengers are keeping on sruml-
ling about the fog. The skipper's small audi
ence. however. feel that for them at least
good deal of fog has been cleared up. and take
away Oh Il trip and are chiseled by fate out of
one expected enjoyment, do not be fool and
waste the whole day in deporing the matter.
but look about you for the next best thing"
Poet Coleridge's hero in "'rhe Ancient Mari
ner" was very wrathy at first at bcin" forced to
desert young beauties in the bathrooms and lis
ten to the yarns of the old salt, but in the end
he acknowledged himself better and wiser
naL. for " lat he learucu. lRn>tou urralL.